May I only give edification and impart
grace to the hearers of my words

H - Humility:

Jesus, I want to learn from You how to
walk in lowliness of heart(Mt. 11:29)

Let me consider others better than myself

I - Insight unto intimacy (wisdom):

Let me know the secrets of Your heart.
What are you thinking and feeling? (Col. 1:9)

Father, give me insight that I may
walk under the Spirit’s leadership so that we may partner together in
every issue in my life including my finances, schedule, emotions,
circumstances, physical body (diet, health), relationships (in the home,
work, ministry), my future, fears, addictions, etc. Give me new ideas in
each area of my life.

Father, I long to walk in the fullness
of Your will in every area of my life

Holy Spirit, I ask for insight into
God’s end-time purposes, eternity, the New Jerusalem, the judgment seat of
Christ, and hell.

a.Jesus commands us watch and pray and stay
alert and know the times in which we are living.Jesus and Paul emphasized the ability to know
the signs and live prepared.

i.“When
you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door…this
generation will not pass away until all these things take place (Jesus return) (Matt.
24:33-34)

ii.Paul
was only with the Thessalonians three weeks (Acts 17:2) and taught in length on
Jesus’ return and the antichrist. “Do you not remember that while I was still
with you, I was telling you these things” (2 Thess. 2:5)

iii.Believers
are called to have understanding and instruct others.“For you yourselves know full well that the
day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.While they are saying, ‘Peace and
safety!’Then destruction will come upon
them
suddenly.But you, brethren, are
not in darkness, that the day would overtake you like a thief; for you are sons
of light…let us not sleep as others do.”(1 Thess. 5:2-5)“The people who
know their God will display strength and take action.Those who have insight among the people will
give understanding to the many.”(Daniel11:32-33)

b.It awakens the Church to urgency and motivates her
to live prepared and it strengthens her confidence in God’s sovereignty by
knowing that He is in control.

c.It is the most talked about generation (time
period) in the Bible.Over 150 chapters
in the Bible have Jesus return as its theme.

d.It prepares the Church to intercede and
participate in the coming revival and be victorious (over comers)in
love and power in the most dramatic time in human history.

e.It awakens love in our hearts for our Bridegroom
King Jesus to return to the earth and establish His reign.We fall more in love with Him!

II.The Day of the Lord

a.The “Day of the Lord” as referred to in
scripture speaks of the years, months, and days leading up to the return of
Jesus.The “Day of the Lord” also speaks
of the final hours and minutes when He appears in the sky, coming on a cloud
with His angels and saints.

i.“Jesus…said
to them:“Take heed that no one deceives
you.For many will come in my name,
saying, ‘I am Christ’, and will deceive many.And you will hear of wars and rumors of
wars.See that you are not troubled…the
end is not yet.For nation will rise against nation,
and kingdom against kingdom.And there
will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places.All these things are the beginning of birth
pangs.”(Matt. 24:4-8)

ii.“When
you hear of wars and commotions, do not be
terrified…There will be great earthquakes…famines and
pestilences; and there will be fearful sights and great
signs from heaven.Before all
these things, they will persecute you…You will be
betrayed even by parents and relatives and friends…But not a hair of
your head shall be lost.(Luke 21:9-18)

iii.The
Church will look up and lift their heads in encouragement knowing Jesus is
coming soon.“When these things begin to
happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near…Look
at the fig tree, when they are already budding, you see and know for
yourselves that summer is now near.So
you also, when you see these things happening, know that the kingdom of God is
near.”(Luke 21:28-31)

iv.Jesus
rebukes the people for being able to read weather signs while being unable to
interpret the prophetic signs of His first coming.“Whenever you see a cloud rising out of the
west, immediately you say, ‘A shower is coming’; and so it is.And when you see the south wind blow, you
say, ‘There will be hot weather’; and there is.Hypocrites!You can discern the
face of the sky and of the earth, but how is it you do not discern this
time?”(Luke 12:54-56)

b.Pray

i.The
Spirit is awakening His Bride to establish prayer and worship to grow her into
her identity and authority to be able to stand courageous in the midst of the
most difficult times in human history.

1.In 1985 there were 20 (24 hours/ day) houses of
prayer found in the world.Today, there
are over 200,000 houses of prayer.The
Spirit is awakening intercession and worship.God governs the universe in intimate partnership with His people through
intercession.The majesty and mystery of
intercession is seen foremost in Jesus’ relationship with the Father.“He (Jesus) always lives to make intercession
for them.”(Heb. 7:25)“I sought for a man among them who would make
a wall and stand in the gap before Me on behalf of the land, that I would not
destroy it; but I found no one.”(Ezek.
22:30)“If my people”….(2 Chron. 14:7)

2.He inhabits the praises of His people.The prayer and worship movement creates an
atmosphere for the Holy Spirit to come and manifest His presence
corporately.While we lift our voices,
meditate in His word, and worship Him, He speaks opens our hearts to His ways.“He (Holy Spirit) will not speak on His own,
but what He hears, He will speak and He will reveal to you what is to
come.”(John 16:13)

3.Jesus grants authority to His people and they
participate with Jesus in the End Time Events.“I will grant authority to my two witnesses…these will have power to
shut up the sky, so that rain will not fall during the days of their
prophesying; and they have power over the waters to turn them to blood and to
strike the earth with every plague.”(Rev. 11:3-6)

4.Jesus is returning to His bride as they sing and
call for Him to return. “The Spirit and
Bride say, ‘Come’.”(Rev. 22:17)

Apostolic Prayer Guide

Prayer for
revelation of Jesus’ beauty that we might walk in our calling and destiny by
God’s power

17 That the Father of glory, may give to
you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the
eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may KNOW (experience) what is the hope of His calling (assurance/clarity of God’s call for our life) what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints (our destiny as Jesus’ inheritance), 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His
power toward us who believe, according to the working of His might
power…(Eph. 1:17-19)

Pray to
receive the Spirit’s power that Jesus’ Presence be manifest in us so we experience
God’s love

16 THAT He would grant you, according to
the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in
the inner man, 17 THAT Christ may dwell(manifest
His presence) in your hearts through
faith; THAT you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to
comprehend (experience)with all the saints what is the width and
length and depth and height – 19 to know the love of Christ which passes
knowledge; THAT you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:16-19)

Prayer for
God’s love to abound in us by the knowledge of God resulting in righteousness
in our life

9 That your love may abound still
more and more in knowledge(of God)
and all discernment, 10 that you may approve
(rejoice in) the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere (no compromise) and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the
fruits of righteousness…(Phil. 1:9-11)

Prayer
to know God’s will, to be fruitful in ministry and strengthened by intimacy
with God

9 That you may be filled with the knowledge
of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding; 10 that you may have
a walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in
every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11 strengthened with
all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and
longsuffering with joy….(Col. 1:9-11)

Prayer
for unity in the church and to be filled with supernatural joy, peace and hope
(confidence) 5 May the God of patience and comfort
grant you to be like-minded toward one another…6 that you may with one
mind and one mouth glorify the…..Father…13 May the God of hope fill you
with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by
the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 15:5-6,13)

To
be enriched by all the gifts of the Spirit including powerful preaching and
prophetic revelation

5 That you were enriched in everything
by Him in allutterance (anointed preaching/singing) and all knowledge (prophetic revelation), 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed
in you (by miracles), 7 so that you come short in no gift,
eagerly waiting for the revelation of … Jesus Christ, 8 who will also confirm
you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
(1Cor. 1:5-8)

For the release of grace to bring the Church to maturity especially to abound
in love and holiness

10 Praying exceedingly that…(God will release His Spirit and grace to)perfect what is lacking in your
faith?...12 And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one
another and to all…13 that He may establish you hearts blameless in holiness
before our God and Father. (1 Thes. 3:10-13)

Pray to be worthy (prepared or made spiritually mature) to walk in the fullness of
our destiny in God 11 We pray always for you that God would
count you worthy of (prepare
us for) this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of
His goodness (plans for us) and the work of faith with power, 12 that
the name of---Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in Him,
according to the grace of our God.(2 Thes. 1:11-12)

That the Word will increase its
influence (effectiveness) in the city as God releases His power on it
1 Pray for us, that the Word of the
Lord may run swiftly (rapidly
increase its influence) and be glorified
(confirmed with apostolic power and
miracles), just as it is with you…3
the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from
the evil one…5 May the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and
into the patience (perseverance or
endurance) of Christ. (2 Thess.
3:1-5)

For impartation of boldness (singing and speaking the Word) by releasing
healing, signs and wonders 29 Lord…grant to Your servants that with
all boldness they may speak Your word, 30 by stretching out Your hand
to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of
Your holy Servant Jesus. 31 And when they had prayed, the place where they were
assembled together was shaken; and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit,
and they spoke the word of God with boldness. (Acts 4:29-31)

Release of God’s promise to be endued with power for all who tarry (labor in
prayer) for breakthrough 49 Behold, I send the Promise of My
Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued
with power from on high, 50…He lifted up His hands and blessed them…(Lk.
24:49-50)

For the Lord to release His zeal for His people and for His manifest Presence
to shake all that resists Him 15 Look down..and see from Your
habitation, holy and glorious. Where are (the manifestations of)Your
zeal and Your strength, the yearning of Your heart and Your mercies toward me?
16…You, O Lord, are our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting in Your name.
64:1 Oh, that You would rend the heavens! That you would come down(manifest Your power)!That the mountains(obstacles) might shake at
Your presence—2 as fire burns brushwood, as fire causes water to boil –to make
Your name known to Your adversaries (sin,
sickness, Satan) that the nations
may tremble at Your presence!3 When You did awesome things for which we did
not look(expect)…4 Since the beginning of the world men have
not heard.…nor has the eye seen any God besides You, who acts for the
one who waits for Him 5 You meet him who rejoices and does
righteousness, who remembers You in Your ways. (Isa. 63:15-16; 64:1-7)

For the release of God’s promise to pour out His Spirit and release dreams,
visions and prophecy17
In the last days, says God, that I will pour
out of My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall
prophesy. Your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream
dreams. 18 On My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My
Spirit in those days; and they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders
in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath: blood, fire and vapor of
smoke. 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood,
BEFORE the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD. 21 Whoever
calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.(Acts 2:17-21)Prayer for Israel to be saved and the release of the prophetic anointing,
miracles and righteousness
1 My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved.
(Rom. 10:1)
26 All Israel will be saved…The Deliverer(Jesus)will come out of
Zion. He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob; 27 For this is My covenant with
them, when I take away their sins. (Rom. 11:26-27)
1 For Zion’s sake I will not hold My peace(or be silent: release a prophetic spirit),
and for Jerusalem’s sake I will not
rest(or I will not be
inactive: release power), UNTIL her righteousness(in all heart issues)goes forth as brightness, and her salvation as a lamp that burns(ministry to others). (Isa. 62:1)
Actual OT Prayers of Israel: (Isa. 63:15-64:12; Dan. 9:4-19; Mic.
7:7-20; Hab. 3:2-19; Ezra 9:5-15; Neb. 1:4-11; 9:5-38; Ps. 44; 45:3-5; 65; 67;
79; 80; 83; 85; 86; 90:13-17; 102:12-22; 110:1-5; 122:6-7; 132:11
OT prophetic promises to pray over Israel(these truths can also be prayed for the Church): Deut. 4:27-31;
30:1-10; 31:29; 33:26-29; Isa. 11:10-16; 29:14, 17-24; 30:18-33; 32:15-19;
33:2-6, 17; 35:1-10; 42:10-17; 43:1-7; 44:1-5; 45:17, 22-25; 51:3-11; 54:1-17;
56:6-8; 59:19-21; 60:1-62; 12; 66:7-14; Jer. 3:14-20; 16:14-21;31:1-14; 32:16-23, 37-42; 33:6-26;
50:4-5, 19-20; 34; Ezek. 11:17-20; 16:60-63; 20:33-44; 34:11-31; 37:1-28; Hos.
2:14-23; 3:5; 5:15-6:3; 11; 14:1-8; Joel 2:28-32; 3:17-20; Zeph. 3:8-20; Hag.
2:6-9, 21-22; Zech. 8:2-8; 12:10-13:6; Mal. 4:1-6

We are excited to share with you some of the Kingdom impact happening on Wednesdays as we partner with the HOPE food pantry to serve and minister to those coming in for food. The food pantry opens their doors at 2pm each Wednesday but it is not uncommon to have people arriving as early as 10:30am. We have been taking advantage of these few hours to connect with people, hear their stories, pray with them and discover God’s Truth and love for them by reading the Bible together and asking a few simple questions: what is this passage saying to you? How can you apply it to your life? Who can you share it with this week? Last week we meditated on Proverbs 16:3 which says, “commit everything you do to the Lord and He will make your plans succeed.” Many people had great observations and applications for this nugget of truth but one person in particular had some great insight and then shared her testimony of how there was a time in her life when she was addicted to alcohol and very angry but she turned to Jesus, received forgiveness and submitted to Jesus’ leading for her life and now she has peace in her life and has been set free from the bondage of alcohol. We asked her if she would be willing to prayer over the group and invite those who are ready to receive Jesus’ forgiveness and new life through His Holy Spirit to pray along with her. Of the 20 people that had gathered there were 2 people we know of that received Jesus’ forgiveness and new life! God’s Word is powerful and does not return void but accomplishes all that it is purposed to do! We are not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God unto salvation!!

Mark Vermeer gave a teaching based on the verse of the week, John 15:12, "My command is this, love each other as I have loved you". He focused on three "R's" - Realization, Revelation and Response.

Realization
What kind of love is this scripture talking about? A perfect love like Jesus who would do nothing outside of the Father's love.

We have to realize that we are deeply loved by a Holy Father. Ephesians 3:17-18 says, "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power, together with all the saints to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of His love". This is an unlimited, perfect, sacrificial love. In John 3:16 we see that: "For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life." God sacrificed his own son to give life to us.

Philippians 2: 6-8 says, "who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.". In 1 John 3:1, we read, "See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him."

We long to understand who Jesus was so we can continue to realize his love for us.

Revelation
Revelation shoes us the significance and importance of his command in John 15:12. Jesus didn't recommend, or suggest it as advice, but he commanded us. Just like when Jesus commanded the wind and waves to calm during the storm on the sea of Galilee in Mark 4. When this happened, the disciples were terrified! They had revelation of the power that Jesus has. In Ephesians 1:3, "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit," we too, have the power of the Holy Spirit. Following revelation, we then Respond1 John 4:20 says, "If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen." Who are our brothers and sisters? Who can we be loving better? Even strangers! Except it is sometimes easier to love a stranger for a moment by helping them out, but then what about the relationships in our families and close friends? How are those relationships? If we are truly loving, we should be giving the best gift - the love of Christ that leads them to a relationship with the One who loves more that we could ever love. This love of Christ in us should convict us to lead others to this love. Who can you be showing this love to today? To watch the full service, click here.

This is a testimony shared by Emma Sandbulte.As I was sitting at the Wednesday night loft set at the HOME Building,I could feel the Holy Spirit moving in everyone and throughout the room. When you hear all the different ways people sing and talk in tongues you can tell that you are not alone. You think of a whole bunch of ways to worship and praise the Lord. My favorite part about the Loft is that no one cares about what they look like and what others will think about how they worship. I also like how you have the freedom to yell out a verse or a prayer whenever you want because you never know if God is putting that same verse or topic on a prayer on someone else’s heart. I also like how I am young but I have the freedom to do whatever I want when it comes to prayer. I feel like blogging is a way to express some of my emotions in a way that some people wouldn’t think that a child would be able to think or do. My favorite song in the whole set was Reckless Love because it talks about how God will fight for us even if he has 99 more believers and yet our one heart turned to him makes such a difference. In the song it says “there is no shadow he won’t light up Mountain he won’t climb coming after me.” To me that means God will do anything to get our hearts turned to him but only if we truly mean it. The next line says “there’s no wall you won’t kick down, no lie you won’t tear down coming after me.” To me that means that God will kick or tear down any lie that the enemy is telling us. That lie may be that we are to fat or that we don’t have a purpose on this earth. Whatever it is God will try and make us not believe it. If someone is saying that awful stuff to you please know that you are not alone in this. Being in middle school means that there are always going to be people who are mean. But lately there have been some really hurtful words being said to me and I am trying to stay strong. You’re not alone in this time. I don’t know why people think it is okay to say stuff like that but just stay strong and you will be okay. If you are believing the lies that the enemy is telling you then you have to PRAY! God is always trying to do what is right for you. He has your whole life planned and memorized so he knows what is going to happen it just depends on if you trust in what the Lord has planned for you. God really moved through me tonight and I know that I will probably want to go again. I have been there before in the summer but now that the school year has started I haven’t been able to make it. I hope to be able to find time to go though. I had so much to say from one hour of worship and spending time with the Lord but if you have ever been there then you would know that it is so moving.

Jen Sandbulte continued the series on Purpose, giving ideas on practical ways to set and achieve goals with the Lord.

Jen began sharing how her sons, both football players prepare for football season. Before football season, they are in intense training - early mornings with weight lifting and practice, then throughout the season they are working hard for the team. Once the season ends, they are already setting goals for next season and working in the off season to achieve those goals. This scenario is much like any other activity or job out there - we work hard and set goals for the things that we are passionate about. But what about our realationship with God? Do we spend all of those long hours in preparation for the Lord, just like we do with athletics, or our careers, or our families?

The book Bible 360 by Daniel Lim talks about giving the Lord our first fruits, not our left overs, then gives examples of how to get into the Word.

1. Read it.
The average reader can read the Bible in 90 hours, so that means if we read it for an hour every day, we could read it in 90 days. That means we could read the entire Bible through 4 times in one year.

Yes, the Bible should be studied and meditated on, but reading the Bible all the way through breaks the unbelief that it can be read through. It's a big book, but it's doable! There are 66 books in the Bible, written over 600 years by 40 authors with 1 Holy Spirit and it's still relevant today. There are 1,189 chapters, 31,000 verses and 770,000 words. If you invest 1 hour a day for 30 days reading the New Testament, it can be finished in 30 days. What a return for a 1 hour a day investment. Image what the Lord would do with that! Where else to we invest 1 hour of our time each day? Are there other distractions that we could give up to spend 1 hour a day in the Word? We are to give 10% to the Lord. 10% of 24 hours is 2.4 hours. Are there ways we could make time in our day to give the Lord 10%?

2. Meditate on it.
To meditate means: thinking on, imagining and resolving the mind. Psalm 1:1-3 Says that we should be mediating on the Word day and night. We can just take small pieces of scripture and slowly chew and digest them.

3. Live it.
James 1:22-25 tells us to be doers of the word. Mark 16:15-17 says to cast out demons and speak in new tongues. We are to be the Church, living in community.

4. Write it.
Deuteronomy 17:18-20 says, “When he sits on the throne as king, he must copy for himself this body of instruction on a scroll in the presence of the Levitical priests.He must always keep that copy with him and read it daily as long as he lives. That way he will learn to fear the Lord his God by obeying all the terms of these instructions and decrees.This regular reading will prevent him from becoming proud and acting as if he is above his fellow citizens. It will also prevent him from turning away from these commands in the smallest way. And it will ensure that he and his descendants will reign for many generations in Israel."The kings had to write (copy) the word down and read it daily! Just start with writing 1-2 verses, eventually work up to more - maybe even a whole chapter! Then underline what sticks out. This is a great way to see the word in a new way. 5. Pray it. Praying scripture essentially demands that we put our faith in God's word and utter it back to Him - expecting HIM to stay true to His word in His time. Praying and agreeing with the truth in the Bible will also assure us that we are praying in the will of God and he delights to perform that which was written in His word. When we're praying the word of God, we are praying His will. 6. Sing it.Not just songs, but scripture. Most worship songs come straight out of scripture. When you hear a song, look up what scripture it is referencing - it will change the way you sing the song. Remember that if you don't se a goal and know where you are heading you'll always hit a target, but it's a moving target. You want to aim at the target God has in mind for you.

We use apps for tracking fitness and health, work, and scheduling, but what about for prayer?
Download the app called "Prayer Prompter" or the "Read Scripture" app!

Another idea is to take a blank calendar and write down things you prayed for or write down praises. Then when prayers are answered, you can highlight them and be able to look back at where you've seen God work!